Reuters — Farm equipment maker Deere and Co. posted a 43 per cent fall in first-quarter profit and cut its full-year profit forecast as lower corn prices and weak farm income weighed on demand for agricultural machinery. The company, which gets nearly two-thirds of its revenue from farm and turf machinery, cut its 2015 net […] Read more
Deere cuts profit forecast as farm equipment sales decline
Ireland says China agrees to lift ban on Irish beef
Dublin | Reuters –– China has agreed to lift its ban on Irish beef, Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny said Friday, making it the only European country to be allowed to export beef to both the U.S. and China. Ireland last month became the first European Union country to regain access to the lucrative U.S. […] Read more
U.S. EPA to propose biofuels standards this spring
Grapevine, Tex. | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to put out a proposal that will address Renewable Fuels Standards for 2014, 2015 and 2016 this spring, an agency official at an industry conference in Grapevine, Tex., said Thursday. The agency will address all three years at once and plans to look at […] Read more
USDA sees reduced U.S. plantings of corn, soy, wheat in 2015-16
Washington | Reuters –– U.S. farmers will plant fewer acres of soybeans, corn, wheat and cotton in the 2015-16 marketing year in response to falling prices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday. At its annual Agricultural Outlook conference, USDA forecast lower prices for most major U.S. crops following bumper harvests in 2014-15. “Consecutive […] Read more
U.S. pork production seen at record high in 2015, beef lower
Washington | Reuters –– U.S. meat and poultry production will rise to a record 95.13 million pounds in 2015, with gains in pork and poultry output more than offsetting a slight drop in beef production, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast on Thursday. Total U.S. pork production was seen up 5.5 per cent at 24.09 […] Read more
S. Africa’s proposed ban on foreign land ownership aimed at farms
Johannesburg | Reuters — A South African government proposal to ban foreign nationals from owning land will apply to farms, not residential property, a government minister was quoted as saying Tuesday. In his State of the Nation address last week, President Jacob Zuma said foreigners would be barred from owning land and South African citizens […] Read more
S. Korea blocks Canadian beef again over BSE case
Seoul | Reuters –– South Korea has halted imports of Canadian beef after Canada on Friday confirmed its first case of mad cow disease since 2011, the South Korean agriculture ministry said. South Korea was seeking more information about the outbreak and discussing public safety with relevant authorities, the ministry said in a statement. The […] Read more
Labour minister says CP, engineers urged to bargain
Vancouver | Reuters — Federal Labour Minister Kellie Leitch on Wednesday said she was encouraging the parties at Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) to bargain, but declined to speculate on what Ottawa might do if workers went out on strike. CP said its managers will be ready to take over if the railway’s engineers and conductors […] Read more
U.S. may lower cholesterol’s level of threat to health
Washington | Reuters — A U.S. advisory panel reviewing national dietary guidelines has decided to drop its caution against eating cholesterol-laden food, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. At a December meeting, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee discussed its decision to no longer deem cholesterol a “nutrient of concern,” according to the Post. The last set […] Read more
Brazil’s grain traders fear monopoly if rail merger allowed
Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Brazil’s grain industry association, Abiove, said on Monday the takeover of the main railway operator America Latina Logistica (ALL) by Rumo, the logistic arm of the biggest sugar and ethanol producer Cosan, could create a monopoly and hurt competition. Cade, Brazil’s antitrust agency, is due to rule Wednesday on the […] Read more